Crutcher’s death. I want to compliment Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett, Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan and Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler as well as the citizens of Tulsa for keeping peace and order during this hard time.
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The police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 40-year-old black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week is formally facing a manslaughter charge. Mr. Crutcher kept putting his hands in his pockets and Officer Shelby kept telling him to show his hands. Another officer with Shelby deployed a taser against Crutcher instead, but Shelby shot and killed Crutcher at close range. A voice heard on the police radio says: “Shots fired!”
It was also just extremely hard to imagine a plausible justification for her decision to shoot; even Donald Trump, who has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, publicly condemned it, saying that people who “choke” while on duty should not be police officers.
Dashcam videos and footage shot from a helicopter showed Crutcher with his hands in the air, complying with officers.
In a statement announcing the felony charge, Kunzweiler said Shelby’s attorney is arranging for her surrender.
When she noticed Crutcher’s vehicle was running, her attorney Scott Wood said, she found it odd. Police said after the incident that Mr Crutcher did not have a gun in his vehicle.
“Make no mistake, it was clear from the beginning that charges were necessary in this case”.
Attorneys for the family of Terence Crutcher say they are “happy charges have been brought” against officer Shelby and that they will be seeking a “vigorous prosecution”.
Attorneys representing Crutcher’s family and an attorney for Shelby offered conflicting accounts of what happened when Shelby encountered Crutcher. However Chief Chuck Jordan of the Tulsa Police Department dismissed Shelby’s assumption and publicly stated Cructher was unarmed.
No dashcam footage exists from Shelby’s auto because she didn’t activate her emergency lights ” which in turn switches on the camera ” when she came upon the abandoned vehicle in the roadway.
The Oklahoma police officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher in Tulsa on September 16 has been charged with first-degree manslaughter, prosecutors announced Thursday. One of them said he looked “like a bad dude”.
Fox 23 reporter Tiffany Alaniz reports that an arrest warrant was issued for Shelby. She had previously worked as a convenience store manager, teacher assistant and trainee in the Oklahoma Air National Guard.
You can read the criminal complaint charging Shelby here.
If convicted, Shelby faces between four years and life in prison.
In an expanded answer, Shelby wrote that in 1993, she and a boyfriend had an argument where they ended their relationship.
In 2000, Shelby and an ex-husband were in a custody battle that was appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Shelby wrote the order was denied.
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Activists planned a rally Thursday night in Tulsa. David Shelby was stationed overseas with the Army; according to the World he was a reservist who volunteered for duty.
